Page 177 of Black Bird

“Alright, look …” Sarah unbuckled her seatbelt and took her key card out of her bag. “If he’s the one that took her, then we’ll make him pay for it. But regardless, we still have to take Dahlia down. Let’s go get this over with and get up with Rhaena.” She opened the door and forced Nick out. Athan followed her to the front doors.

Once they were inside, Sarah led them to her workspace and got several sterile blood bags and a cart. Nick watched with suspicion, butsurprisingly kept quiet. Sarah pinched between her eyes as if in pain and Athan stepped forward, taking her arm gently.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, just a splitting headache.” Her pupils were dilated and jumped erratically when she tried to focus them on his.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this,” he urged, taking her waist and noticing how she lightly trembled. “Something doesn’t seem right.”

“No,” she said, turning and busying herself with the cart. “I’m doing it.” She finally finished and turned towards Specter, who suddenly seemed horrified. “Ready to redeem yourself, Nick?” Athan noticed him glance to the counter where Sarah had placed his gun.

“Oh, do it …” Athan grinned. “Give me a fucking reason, Specter.”

“What are you gonna do to me? What help is my blood gonna be?” Nick was visibly shaking and swallowing loud enough to be annoying. Sarah scoffed.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t want, nor do I need your blood. What I need is for you to draw mine and replicate it. I need enough for several people. I know you can do it. I’ve read files in this lab.”

“You want me towhat? Sarah, I’d need more than one pint to make that work, and it would take almost a week. How much blood are we talking about here?” Nick asked, moving his shoulders and forgetting he was still in handcuffs.

“I need enough for a whole coven.” Her tone was flat … final.

“You can’t be serious.”

“What about this situation makes you think I’m not? I need it. And I need you to get it to me quicker than a week. How much would you need to rush it?”

Nick blew out a frustrated breath and looked around the room. “At least three pints. That’s not safe to give at once. We’d have to spread it out over at least two days between—”

“No, you’re taking it all tonight. I can handle it.” Sarah slid herself into the chair and opened an alcohol swab.

“Sarah … absolutely not.” Athan growled, stalking up to the chair.

Nick stepped forward. “That’s too much blood volume in one sitting. You could go into hypovolemic shock. I shouldn’t have to tell you that. You lose that much blood you might as well be killing yourself, St. James.”

“You can do this, or I can go back and explain to your wife and kid why they’re gonna have to plan your fucking funeral, Nick. Athan, get him outta those cuffs.”

“Kane, please man … talk some sense into her. I ain’t killing anybody. This is insane.”

Athan ignored him and knelt down beside Sarah who cleaned the skin on the bend of her inner arm. She wouldn’t look at him, and he knew why.

You’re not telling me something.

Her arms trembled, and her hands shook while she opened a clean needle and started prepping it for an IV. He placed a hand on her knee.

Sarah, look at me.

She slowed, finally sliding her eyes towards him until they were sharing one of those infamous stares he could never look away from. It laid her bare, and his chest ached.

You’re turning … aren’t you?

She took a long time, but finally started to nod slowly.

Yeah … yeah, I think so. I didn’t think I’d care until it dawned on me that it might change my blood. What if my turning causes the blood not to work like this anymore? What if this is all I have left and I’m running out of time to change the minds of those people, and lose our best chance of turning them against her? I can’t risk that, Athan. I have to do this … please let me do this. Before it’s too late.

He sighed deeply and took her hand, squeezing it and swallowing hard.

We can find another way. What if this kills you?

She huffed through her nose, smirking at him and shaking her head.

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